God’s Call of Abraham
Vince Daugherty
Context of the Call of Abram
- 1st Introduced in Genesis 11
Geneology
- Following the peoples after the flood
of Noah
- Genesis Chapter 11 dedicated to the
story of the “Tower of Babel”
- Mankind outside of God’s purpose
- Commanded to be fruitful and
multiply (Gen 9:1)
- Involved was spreading out and
practicing dominion over the earth
- By the time of Genesis 11 mankind
had not been following God’s command
- Psalm 33:10 - God actively works to
foil the plans of man that are outside of his purpose for them
- Psalm 33:18-19 - God actively works
to keep safe those who fear him
- Side application - it’s always
right to do things God’s way
[Reading Gen 11:31-12:3]
The Call
- Wonder if Abram was the first to be
called
- Terah set out from Ur with the goal
of Canaan, not Haran
- If Canaan was his goal he came up
far short
- Did Terah settle?
- Side Application - It’s not enough
to only complete part of a of a task
- Was Terah called before Abram and we
aren’t told?
- Maybe, maybe he knew he needed to be
far from what was there
- He is not mentioned in Hebrews 11 -
the HOF on people of faith in the BIble
- Parable of the two sons Jesus told
(Matt 21:28-31)
- Notable is the one who actually did
the will of the Father
- 3 Fold Call of Abram
- 1. Go from your country
- 2. Leave your father’s house/family
- 3. Go to a land in which I will show
you
- High call - not much knowledge -
unknown promises
- 7 Promises
- 1. Make you a great nation
- 2. Blessings (wealth etc.)
- 3. Name will be great
- 4. He will bless others
- 5. Bless those who bless him
- 6. Curse those who curse him
- 7. All peoples will be blessed
through him
[Read Genesis 12:4-8]
Abram’s Response
- v. 4 - Abram went
- Despite the lack of information
- Despite 43% of his life being
through
- He didn’t quit halfway
- v. 6 the Canaanites were in the land
- Duh… got to be a purpose for the
observation
- Possibly foreshadowing Israel’s
neighbors and the future relations they would have together
- The tests and challenges to not
adopt false gods or false worship
- To be a city on a hill for their
neighbors to see and be blessed by
- See the perspective of Abram -
promised by God, but he is the foreigner in a far away land
- v. 7 God’s promise won’t be realized
until future generations
- Yes Abram was blessed, but the full
promises wouldn’t even be seen in his lifetime
- What faith
- v. 7-8 twice Abram builds an altar
and worships God
- In the land of foreign people with
other gods
Applications we need to see about God’s Call
- God’s call can be costly
- Could cost family & friends
- Could cost career ambitions
- God’s call can be misunderstood
- Financial changes
- Time & effort in service
- Relationships
- Faith will be tested
- We hate tests
- It is necessary if we are going to
grow (James 1:1-2)
- Change makes us leave our comfort
zone
- Much easier to settle, to ignore,
keep the status quo
- Can we take the long-term approach?
- Contrast
to how we try to make our heaven on earth
- Hebrews 11:24-27
- When he
came of age…
- Momentary
pleasures of sin…
- Sometimes
associating with God’s people will make you a target
- Looking
for a future reward, saw Him who is invisible
- Are we really looking forward to the
2nd coming?
- Are we too busy for God to come
back right now?
Applications from Abram’s Response to God’s Call
- Yes needs to be our response when God
calls
- We overcomplicate things
- We think that we know better
- We must conform our lives to God’s
standard
- God allows challenges in our lives
- Canaanites in the land!
- There may be failures - that’s ok if
we learn from it
- We must worship regardless
- No matter who is watching
- Worried about fitting in or being
God’s person
- Abraham’s example
Through Abraham’s Seed
- Prophesy regarding sending of Jesus
- Ultimately God’s story of bringing
all of humanity to be a part of His chosen people
- Through Christ we have blessings
& promises
- Forgiveness of sins
- Advocate with the Father
- Restored relationship
- Hope of heaven
- Will you respond to the gospel call?
- It will cost you
- You will be misunderstood
- There will be challenges
- Yes must be our response to the
invitation
- Not afraid no matter who is
watching
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